Decision details

To amend the House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Amenity Standards to:

1.     ensure they are clearer, strengthened in their enforceability and fit-for-purpose for the size of property, number of occupants and type of tenancy within licensed HMO’s.

2.    align the standards with those required by similar Local Authority areas.

The standards are based on the prescribed and recommended legislative standards and ensure that facilities within shared accommodation are suitable for the occupants.

There has been ambiguity and inconsistency in the enforcement of amenity standards for a number of years.  In 2018 the Housing Act was amended to require a wider range of HMOs to be licensed, to include all properties with 5 or more people. Since this date there have been seemingly over-zealous requirements of washing facilities, in particular for smaller properties, and this has caused confusion with officers and licence holders.

Research of other similar Local Authority areas, such as Portsmouth and Bristol, illustrate that the standards required prior to the alteration of legislation in 2018, should not necessarily be expected to automatically apply to smaller properties, some of which have been occupied safely and appropriately for many years. 

Prior to this change, larger HMOs (at least 3-storeys) were required to be licensed and in many cases these properties were let room by room and there was often less social interaction between occupants prior to occupation.  Many of the smaller properties now licensable since the Legislation changed are occupied by groups of friends on a single tenancy agreement and the requirements are needed to reflect this, as in other Local Authority areas, particularly those with high student populations.

The previous requirements that appear over-zealous and are not supported by a risk assessment, are: two bathrooms and two separate w/cs for 6 sharing occupants, yet 4 sharers can share one combined bathroom and toilet.  This alteration seeks to address this in a clearer and fairer way for all, with no harm to occupants of HMOs.